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Greek city of Abdera in Thrace
Bronze Chalkous 11mm (0.96 grams) Struck circa 336-311 B.C.
Pythadoros, magistrate
Reference: C-N 116; SNG Copenhagen 373
Griffin seated left, raising forepaw.
ΠΥΘΟΔΩΡΟ, Quadripartite square with pellets
in quarters.
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Heraldic guardian griffin at
Kasteel de Haar
, Netherlands
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Greek:
γ��φων, grýph�n, or γ��πων, grýp�n, early form γ��ψ,
grýps;
Latin
: gryphus)
is a
legendary creature
with the body, tail, and
back legs of a lion
; the head and wings of an
eagle
; and an eagle’s talons as its front feet.
As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle
was the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful
and majestic creature. The griffin was also thought of as king of the creatures.
Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions.
Adrienne Mayor
, a classical folklorist,
proposes that the griffin was an ancient misconception derived from the
fossilized remains of the
Protoceratops
found in gold mines in the
Altai mountains
of
Scythia
, in present day southeastern
Kazakhstan
, or in
Mongolia
.In antiquity it was a
symbol
of
divine power
and a guardian of the divine. Some
have suggested that the word griffin is cognate with
Cherub
.
The Islamic
Pisa Griffin
, in the
Pisa Cathedral
Museum
Form
While griffins are most common in the art and lore of
Ancient Greece
, there is evidence of
representations of griffins in Ancient Persian and
Ancient Egyptian art
as far back as 3,300 BC.[5][6]
Most statues have bird-like
talons, although in some older illustrations griffins have a lion’s
forelimbs; they generally have a lion’s hindquarters. Its eagle’s head is
conventionally given prominent
ears; these are sometimes described as the lion’s ears, but are often
elongated (more like a
horse
‘s), and are sometimes feathered. The
earliest depiction of griffins are the 15th century BC
frescoes
in the
Throne Room
of the
Bronze Age
Palace of
Knossos
, as restored by Sir
Arthur Evans
. It continued being a favored
decorative theme in Archaic and Classical Greek art. In
Central Asia
the griffin appears about a
thousand years after Bronze Age Crete, in the 5th–4th centuries BC, probably
originating from the
Achaemenid Persian Empire
. The Achaemenids
considered the griffin “a protector from evil, witchcraft and secret slander”.[7]
The modern generalist calls it the lion-griffin, as for example,
Robin Lane Fox
, in Alexander the Great,
1973:31 and notes p. 506, who remarks a lion-griffin attacking a stag in a
pebble mosaic
Dartmouth College expedition
at
Pella
, perhaps as an emblem of the kingdom of
Macedon or a personal one of Alexander’s successor
Antipater
.
Achaemenid
griffin at
Persepolis
.
The Pisa Griffin
is a large bronze sculpture which
has been in Pisa
in Italy since the Middle Ages, though it
is of Islamic
origin. It is the largest bronze
medieval Islamic sculpture known, at over three feet tall (42.5 inches, or 1.08
m.), and was probably created in the 11th century in
Al-Andaluz
(Islamic Spain).[8]
From about 1100 it was placed on a column on the roof of
Pisa Cathedral
until replaced by a replica in
1832; the original is now in the Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo (Cathedral Museum),
Pisa.
Infrequently, a griffin is portrayed without wings, or a wingless
eagle-headed lion is identified as a griffin; in 15th-century and later
heraldry
such a beast may be called an alce
or a keythong. In heraldry, a griffin always has forelegs like an eagle’s
hindlegs; the beast with forelimbs like a lion’s forelegs was distinguished by
perhaps only one English herald of later heraldry as the opinicus.
Medieval lore
Statue of a griffin at
St Mark’s Basilica
in
Venice
.
Griffins not only mated for life, but also, if either partner died, then the
other would continue throughout the rest of its life alone, never to search for
a new mate. The griffin was thus made an emblem of the Church’s views on
remarriage
[dubious
–
discuss
]. A
Hippogriff
is a legendary creature, supposedly
the offspring of a griffin and a mare. Being a union of a terrestrial beast and
an aerial bird, it was seen in
Christendom
to be a symbol of
Jesus
, who was both human and divine. As such
it can be found sculpted on some churches.[1]
According to Stephen Friar’s New Dictionary of Heraldry, a griffin’s
claw was believed to have
medicinal
properties and one of its feathers
could restore
sight
to the
blind
.[1]
Goblets fashioned from griffin claws (actually
antelope
horns) and griffin eggs (actually
ostrich eggs) were highly prized in medieval European courts.[9]
When it emerged as a major
seafaring power
in the
Middle Ages
and
Renaissance
, griffins commenced to be depicted
as part of the
Republic of Genoa
‘s coat of arms, rearing at
the sides of the shield bearing the
Cross of St. George
.
By the 12th century the appearance of the griffin was substantially fixed:
“All its bodily members are like a lion’s, but its wings and mask are like an
eagle’s.”[10]
It is not yet clear if its forelimbs are those of an eagle or of a lion.
Although the description implies the latter, the accompanying illustration is
ambiguous. It was left to the heralds to clarify that.
Heraldic significance
A heraldic griffin passant.
In heraldry, the griffin’s amalgamation of lion and eagle gains in courage
and boldness, and it is always drawn to powerful fierce monsters. It is used to
denote strength and military courage and leadership. Griffins are portrayed with
rear body of a lion, an eagle’s head, with erect ears, and feathered breast,
with forelegs of an eagle, including claws. The combination indicates a
combination of intelligence and strength.[11]
In British heraldry, a male griffin is shown without wings, its body covered
in tufts of formidable spikes, with a short tusk emerging from the forehead, as
for a unicorn
.[12]
The female griffin with wings is more commonly used.
In architecture
In architectural
decoration the griffin is usually
represented as a four-footed beast with wings and the head of an
eagle
with
horns
, or with the head and beak of an eagle.[citation
needed]
The statues that mark the entrance to the City of London are sometimes
mistaken for griffins, but are in fact (Tudor) dragons, the supporters of the
city’s arms
.[13]
They are most easily distinguished from griffins by their membranous, rather
than feathered, wings.
In literature
Griffins are used widely in
Persian poetry
;
Rumi is one such poet who writes in reference to griffins.[16]
In
Dante Alighieri
‘s
Divine Comedy
, Beatrice meets Dante in
Earthly Paradise after his journey through Hell and Purgatory with Virgil have
concluded. Beatrice takes off into the Heavens to begin Dante’s journey through
paradise on a flying Griffin that moves as fast as lightning.
Sir John Mandeville
wrote about them in his
14th century book of travels:
John Milton
, in
Paradise Lost
II, refers to the legend of
the griffin in describing
Satan
:
In
The Son of Neptune
by
Rick Riordan
,
Percy Jackson
,
Hazel Levesque
, and
Frank Zhang
are attacked by griffins in
Alaska
.
In the
Harry Potter
series, the character
Albus Dumbledore
has a griffin-shaped knocker.
Also, the character
Godric Gryffindor
‘s surname is a variation on
the French griffon d’or (“golden griffon”).
Pomponius Mela- ” In Europe, constantly falling snow makes those places
contiguous with the Riphean Mountains so impassable that, in addition, they
prevent those who deliberately travel here from seeing anything. After that
comes a region of very rich soil but quite uninhabitable because griffins, a
savage and tenacious breed of wild beasts, love- to an amazing degree- the gold
that is mined from deep within the earth there, and because they guard it with
an amazing hostility to those who set foot there.” (Romer, 1998.)
Mandeville- “In this land are many gryffons, more than in other places, and
some say they have the body before as an Egle, and behinde as a Lyon, and it is
trouth, for they be made so; but the griffen hath a body greater than 8 lyons,
and stall worthier than a hundred eagles. For certainly he wyl beare to his nest
flying, a horse and a man upon his back, or two oxen yoked together.” (speaking
of the land called Bactria)
Isidore of Seville- “The Gryphes are so called because they are winged
quadrupeds. This kind of wild beast is found in the Hyperborean Mountains. In
every part of their body they are lions, and in wings and heads are like eagles,
and they are fierce enemies of horses. Moreover they tear men to pieces.” (Brehaut,
1912)
[18]
Modern uses
The red Griffin rampant was the coat of arms of the dukes of
Pomerania
and survives today as the
armorial of
West Pomeranian Voivodeship
(historically,
Farther Pomerania
) in Poland.
Similarly, the coat of arms of
Greifswald
, Germany, in
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
, also shows
a red griffin rampant — perched in a tree, reflecting a legend about
the town’s founding in the 13th Century.
Rogue taxidermy
griffin,
Zoological Museum, Copenhagen
Flag of the
Utti Jaeger Regiment
of the Finnish
Army
The griffin is the symbol of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art
;
bronze
castings of them perch on each corner of
the museum
‘s roof, protecting its collection.[19][20]
Similarly, prior to the mid-1990s a griffin formed part of the logo of
Midland Bank
(now
HSBC).
The griffin is the logo of
United Paper Mills
,
Vauxhall Motors
, and of
Scania
and its former group partners
SAAB-Aircraft
and
Saab Automobile
. The latest fighter produced by
the SAAB-Aircraft company bears the name of “Gripen”
(Griffin), but as a result of public competition.
General Atomics
has used the term “Griffin Eye”
for its intelligence surveillance platform based on a Hawker Beechcraft King Air
35ER civilian aircraft[21]
Griffins, like many other fictional creatures, frequently appear within works
under the fantasy
genre. Examples of fantasy-oriented
franchises that feature griffins include
Warhammer Fantasy Battle
,
Warcraft
,
Heroes of Might and Magic
,
Dungeons and Dragons
(see
Griffon (Dungeons & Dragons)
),
Ragnarok Online
,
Harry Potter
,
The Spiderwick Chronicles
, and
The Battle for Wesnoth
.
In professional sports
The
Grand Rapids Griffins
professional hockey team
of the
American Hockey League
.
Amusement parks
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
‘s highlight
attraction is a dive coaster called “Griffon”, which opened in 2007.
Use of the
word for real animals
Some large species of
Old World vultures
are called griffines,
including the
Griffon Vulture
(Gyps fulvus). The
scientific name for the
Andean Condor
is Vultur gryphus, Latin
for “griffin-vulture”.
Origin
A theory, postulated primarily by
Adrienne Mayor
, is that the griffin originated
with ancient paleontological observations brought by long-distance traders to
Europe along the
Silk Road
from the
Gobi Desert
in Mongolia, where white fossils of
Protoceratops
are naturally exposed against
reddish ground. Such fossils, seen by ancient observers, may have been
interpreted as evidence of a half-bird-half-beast.[27][28]
Over repeated retelling and drawing recopying its bony neck frill (which is
rather fragile and may have been frequently broken or entirely weathered away)
may become large mammal-type external ears, and its beak may be treated as
evidence of part-bird nature and lead to bird-type wings being added.
Abdera (Greek:
Άβδη�α) was a city-state on the coast of
Thrace
17 km east-northeast of the mouth of the
Nestos
, and almost opposite
Thasos
. The site now lies in the
Xanthi Prefecture
of modern
Greece
. The municipality of Abdera, or �vdira.
Its mythical foundation was attributed to
Heracles
(on behalf of his fallen friend
Abderus
), its historical one to a colony from
Klazomenai
. This historical founding was
traditionally dated to
654 BC
, which is unverified, although evidence
in
7th century BC
Greek pottery
tends to support it. But its
prosperity dates from
544 BC
, when the majority of the people of
Teos (including the poet
Anacreon
) migrated to Abdera to escape the
Persian yoke (Herodotus
i.168). The chief coin type, a
griffon
, is identical with that of Teos;
the rich silver coinage is noted for the beauty and variety of its reverse
types.
In
513 BC
and
512 BC
, the Persians conquered Abdera. In
492 BC
, the Persians again conquered Abdera,
this time under
Darius I
. It later became part of the
Delian League
and fought on the side of Athens
in the
Peloponnesian war
.
Abdera was a wealthy city, the third richest in the League, due to its
production of corn and status as a prime port for trade with the interior of
Thrace and the
Odrysian kingdom
.
A valuable prize, the city was repeatedly sacked: by the
Triballi
in
376 BC
,
Philip II of Macedon
in
350 BC
; later by
Lysimachos of Thrace
, the
Seleucids
, the
Ptolemies
, and again by the Macedonians. In
170 BC
the Roman armies and those of
Eumenes II of Pergamon
besieged and sacked it.
The town seems to have declined in importance after the middle of the
4th century BC
. The air of Abdera was
proverbial in Athens as causing stupidity, but the city counted among its
citizens the philosophers
Democritus
,
Protagoras
and
Anaxarchus
, and historian and philosopher
Hecataeus of Abdera
.
The ruins of the town may still be seen on Cape Balastra; they cover seven
small hills, and extend from an eastern to a western harbor; on the southwestern
hills are the remains of the medieval settlement of Polystylon. Abdera is a
titular see
of the
Roman Catholic Church
in the province of
Rhodope
on the southern coast of Thrace, now
called Bouloustra.
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